Hot spots in the arts district

Angel City Brewery brought small-batch craft brewing to downtown in 2010, inside a former bridge-cable braiding facility on Alameda Street. The revamped building has a "mustache bar," a rotating selection of beer and art. And, because outside food is welcome, it is a hub for food trucks.

Bread Lounge, a wholesale business that opened a cafe on Santa Fe Avenue in 2012, sells artisanal hand-made bread and pastries. And by artisanal, we mean their bread takes 48 hours to bake.

Hammer and Spear's husband-and-wife founders are big names in the interior design community (one hosts a show on HGTV). They upped the level of vintage general stores at this spot on the corner of Santa Fe and Third, offering curated treasures ranging from street artist curios to rare apothecary goods.

The Pie Hole, featuring made-from-scratch sweet and savory pies, is a family business on Traction Avenue that bills itself as the city's first authentic pie shop. Chef Beth Kellerhals worked with Roy Choi at A-frame and Sunny Spot. Yes, definitely try the maple custard pie.

Pizzanista!, on 7th Street, was co-founded by professional skateboarder Salman Agah, and promotes culinary and artistic collaborations. For example, the pizza boxes display designs by local street artists.

Poketo, a home gifts and lifestyle site founded by a husband-and-wife designer duo, has done commissions for the likes of Nike, Disney and Target. The flagship brick-and-mortar on 3rd Street opened in 2012 and has a design studio attached.

Urban Radish, on the site of a former glass manufacturing warehouse on Imperial Street, is a farm-fresh gourmet grocery store specializing in artisanal meats and cheeses, sustainable and locally sourced products, $12 dinner plates and jazz nights on Wednesdays.

Graphics

For A-list celebs, skater boys and club rats alike, craft cocktails and Street Fighter II are proving to be a winning combination.

It’s a sunny Tuesday afternoon following another busy weekend at EightyTwo, the Downtown Arts District’s upscale take on the trending bar-arcade concept. Co-founders and downtown Los Angeles residents Scott Davids, 33, and Noah Sutcliffe, 32, are relaxing under the shade of their two hand-picked carrotwood trees in the courtyard, demolishing sandwiches from Eat.Drink.Americano, the gastropub down the street.

“I think we’re in the coolest part of L.A. right now. Anywhere you go, there’s something to discover. We met a lot of the developers and it’s cool to envision how the neighborhood is going to look,” said Davids, who moved to the Arts District six years ago and is also the founder of visual effects company Level 256.

The idea for EightyTwo was a “natural extension” of Davids’ personal collection of arcade machines. When “barcades” – raucous watering holes offering arcade classics such as Pac-Man alongside Giant Jenga and even skee ball – started cropping up around the country, it seemed like time to start his own version. To help make it happen, Davids persuaded Sutcliffe, his best friend since grade school, to leave his job as an entertainment attorney.

In the month since opening, one thing is clear: EightyTwo has helped put the neighborhood’s historically quieter business scene on the map.

During opening weekend, 3,500 people waited on the mural paint-stained sidewalk in front of the Fourth Place entrance to get into the 4,000-square-foot bar, which features a rotating lineup of 40 arcade and 15 pinball machines in two rooms adjoining an outdoor courtyard. The games are generously spaced – as in an art gallery, Davids noted – and the backlit bar along the far wall of the main game room is a classy-looking affair.

A news station in Michigan covered the launch. Hardcore pinballers came from as far away as Virginia for a crack at rare games, such as the electromechanical Jungle Queen: Priced at factory settings, the game costs just 25 cents per play.

And in true Arts District fashion, a photographer wandered around capturing the excitement of gamers.

“Business exceeded projections,” said Sutcliffe, who spends more time now in graphic T-shirts mixing drinks. “I think people who are successful in business just don’t take no for an answer, but there were definitely times we wondered if it could be done.”

Sutcliffe paused briefly as a couple wandered in through the side gate to browse the game selection, waiting for the inevitable question: “Hey, what time do you guys open?”

Peer pressure

Of late, there are many eyes on businesses in the Arts District, which often seem to possess an extra level of inventiveness.

The 10,000-square-foot Arts District Flea, which celebrated its grand opening April 18, aims to showcase the work of young, independent designers and artists in the community. Wurstküche (pronounced verst-koo-ka) is a sausage joint known for its beautifully designed dining space, hard-to-find beers and exotic meats, such as rattlesnake and pheasant.

At Guerilla Atelier, a luxe retail concept and event space curated by Carl Louisville – who happens to be the former director of the Prada Epicenter in Beverly Hills – patrons can pour themselves a glass of premium whiskey and lounge on plush leather armchairs. The Daily Dose cafe is only accessible via a quaint brick alleyway, and offers an adjacent gallery space. (It’s also the rare sort of place where carrying a cup of Portland-based Stumptown coffee from the new roastery down the street will earn you catcalls.)

“There’s a new generation of businesses in town – artisan businesses,” said Cindy Schwarzstein, founder of Cartwheel Art, an online magazine that offers Arts District tours and promotional support to art organizations. “People in the Arts District consist mostly of creative, entrepreneurial, outside-the-box thinkers, with a lot of businesses here having an artist and creative force behind them. The hopes are that any developer or new business wanting to come into the district would serve the neighborhood residents and visitors, as the name implies.”

EightyTwo, named for the first year of the golden age of arcade games, is the perfect example.

“There’s definitely peer pressure that keeps businesses cool and interesting. We went through long deliberation processes for everything,” Sutcliffe said.

“We lived and breathed the neighborhood for 18 months. We obsessed about every detail,” Davids added.

They hired local architect Darin Johnstone, of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and furniture maker Mark Harris to build a “games-driven” space. The Brazilian ironwood patio benches and gaming chairs are modeled after the angles of a “Star Wars” cockpit. Custom-made stands between arcade machines holds drinks and purses. The deejay booth resembles a flipped pinball machine.

The staff was mostly recruited from some of Davids’ and Sutcliffe’s favorite bars around town, and they further bolstered their street cred in the arcade world by employing Molly Atkinson, 35, as arcade manager and technician. Atkinson, who alternates her time at EightyTwo between fixing machines and crushing their high scores, is the mastermind behind the Pins and Needles pinball arcade in Echo Park. Soon she will help bring a pinball league to EightyTwo.

EightyTwo LA co-owners Scott Davids, left, and Noah Sutcliff and manager Molly Atkinson pose among retro video games on the floor of their Arts District arcade bar. BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER, BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
EightyTwo is a new arcade bar in the Arts District that features high-class drinks, lots of open space and meticulously restored classic arcade games. BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A few of the classic games at EightyTwo, an arcade bar in the Arts District. BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Games at EightyTwo are spaced generously, like in an art gallery, said cofounder Scott Davids. BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Arcade Bar EightyTwo offers 40 classic pinball and 15 arcade games on rotation. BLAINE OHIGASHI, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Bread Lounge, located on 700 S. Santa Fe Ave., sells artisanal hand-made bread and pastries that take up to 48 hours to bake. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Fifty Seven, a new restaurant in the Arts District, is located on 712 S. Santa Fe Ave. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
People have lunch at the Daily Dose, located at 1820 Industrial St., which can be found within an alleyway adorned with tables and hanging lights. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pizzanista! is located on 2019 E. Seventh St. The restaurant was co-founded by professional skateboarder Salman Agah. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A customer pays for his order at Stumptown Coffee Roasters, located at 806 S. Santa Fe Ave. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Stumptown Coffee Roasters sees a wave of customers coming in for a coffee break in the early afternoon. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rows of Stumptown Coffee Roasters coffee growlers sit on a shelf. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Urban Radish, located at 661 Imperial St., is on the former site of a glass-manufacturing warehouse. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
L.A.'s own Handsome Coffee Roasters is located at 582 Mateo St. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Stumptown Coffee Roasters prepares to serve afternoon customers. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Handsome Coffee Roasters is located on 582 Mateo St. ISAAC ARJONILLA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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